The present invention relates to elastomeric and/or plastic like membranes or linings. Some of these types of materials/products in the industry have previously been made by using isocyanate chemistry. Examples of products using isocyante chemistry include pure polyurethanes or pure polyureas or a hybrid of both polyurethanes and polyureas. These products typically consist of two components and are made by mixing part A with part B of the product at the time of use. One part is usually referred to as the Iso part, containing an isocyanate material, while the other part is usually referred to as the amine/polyol part, containing a polyol, amine or a combination of a group of compatible active hydrogen containing materials. An Iso component commonly used by the industry is methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) monomer or a combination of an MDI monomer and MDI polymer/oligomer. In general, the understanding in the industry is that a better product (e.g., having better mechanical performance and chemical resistance) is obtained when monomeric MDI alone or sometimes in combination with polymeric MDI is utilized in one part of the product in conjunction with an aromatic di-amine in the other part of the product. The use of such materials in the industry is generally known as producing products with good water permeation resistance and chemical resistance along with good corrosion resistance and mechanical performance. The use of monomeric MDI in such systems has been suggested to help reduce the viscosity, adjust the reaction speed, and obtain better cross-linking to provide both good mechanical and chemical properties of the final products.
However, the use of monomeric MDI, due to it being a monomer, has potentially negative health and safety concerns. This is generally the case for almost all monomeric isocyanate systems. In this regard, it would be beneficial to make a product with very low (or no) free monomer in it while still achieving the desired mechanical, chemical and application performance objectives. It would also be advantageous from a toxicological standpoint if such a product contained no aromatic diamine in its amine/polyol part due to potential generation of species from the aromatic diamines which have been reported to be carcinogenic.
In such a situation, where the Iso part contains no (or very low) monomeric material and the amine/polyol part is free of aromatic diamine, it is generally believed that the properties of the material, including the reaction speed are detrimentally affected. Thus, there is a need to achieve desired properties at reaction speeds that are similar to that of the products made by the use of free monomeric MDI and aromatic di-amine. As a result, it would be advantageous to obtain the desirable product properties, without using the common materials, as discussed above, particularly if those products can also be made working at similar reaction speeds and application conditions with the commonly used materials.